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By: Ryan T. Fitzgerald ‘25
My name is Ryan Fitzgerald and I’m a rising 2L at the University at Buffalo School of Law. This summer I was a judicial extern for the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. I was provided funding through the University at Buffalo School of Law Summer Public Interest Funding & Fellowship program to pursue this opportunity.
The superior courts in California are the state’s trial courts and are one of the largest court systems in the United States, if not the world. Governed by the California Constitution, each of California’s 58 counties has a superior court. The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles is by far the largest superior court. It handles over 2.5 million legal matters each year and is in the most populous county in the United States.
This summer I split my time between volunteering for the Hon. Frank M. Tavelman (civil) in the Burbank Courthouse and Hon. Shelly Torrealba (criminal) in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center located in downtown Los Angeles. The Criminal Justice Center is also the same courthouse where the murder trial of O.J. Simpson took place.
Through this externship, I was able to develop first-hand insights into both the criminal and civil justice systems of California. I was able to observe cases before both courthouses on a variety of legal issues such as contracts, torts, property disputes, and fraud in one courthouse and murder and assault in the other.
In addition to this, I conducted legal research on various issues relevant to the cases before the courts and assisted in the preparation of legal documents such as court orders. For example, I assisted in the preparation of default judgment in the civil court and research on post-conviction matters in the criminal court. I learned how to synthesize detailed legal writings to create a 9-page research paper. The Superior Court also held weekly externship sessions where judges and research attorneys held lectures on a wide variety of topics from the basics of California’s Civil Procedure laws to foster a discussion on how to manage imposter syndrome in the field of law. In addition to this, the court system also hosted in-person tours of different courthouses like a tour of the juvenile court at the Edelman Children’s Court.
What I was most shocked by was how the learning of the law is so much different than the application of the law. At first, I was greatly intimidated by the court system and my peers. Although the learning curve was steep, I was exposed to the complexities of the Court’s functions. I became more confident in my abilities through interactions with other students in the program and growing confidence in showing up at the courthouse each day.
I want to thank the staff and judges of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles for taking me in as an extern. I also want to thank the donors of the Kaplan & Reynolds Summer Fellowship to fund this experience this summer. I look forward to coming back to the University at Buffalo School of Law this fall and utilizing my experiences this summer for my law school classes and extracurricular activities.
Name: Ryan T. Fitzgerald ’25
Fellowship: 2023 Kaplan & Reynolds Summer Fellowship Award
Placement: The Los Angeles Superior Court
Location: Los Angeles, CA
One important lesson I have learned from this fellowship: “Through this externship, I was able to develop first-hand insights into both the criminal and civil justice systems of California.”
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